Elissa Silverman, the at-large candidate who came the closest to beating Anita Bonds this year, won’t be a candidate in the democratic primary this April, she said in an email to supporters today.

“I’m writing to let you know I have decided not to be a candidate in the Democratic primary at this time,” Silverman, a wonk for the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and former Loose Lips, wrote. “You have my continued commitment to push for integrity and accountability, and I will keep looking for opportunities to serve our city – whether in or out of public office.”

In the April special election to fill the seat vacated by now Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Silverman received 27.69 percent of the vote. As former DCist editor Martin Austermuhle noted:

After Bonds, Silverman may be the big winner of the night. A former journalist and policy analyst who ran as a wonky progressive and refused to take any corporate contributions, Silverman performed strongly in wards west of the river. She led in ward 1 and 6, while keeping almost even with [Pat] Mara in wards 2 and 3.

“I want to thank you again for your support in the April 23 special election,” Silverman said in today’s email. “Since then, many of you have emailed, called, and sent handwritten notes encouraging me to run again. I am so honored that you would want me to represent you, and it made this decision not to run in April extremely difficult.”

She added, “I will be following this April’s races closely and looking for candidates who strongly support” issues and policies including paid sick days for all D.C. workers and a “living” wage.

Update: While Silverman is out, shadow representative Nate Bennett-Fleming will run for Bonds’ at-large seat.